10/09/2008 @ 4:00PM

In Depth: Voices From Main Street

Zanesville, Ohio

Where: 55 miles east of Columbus, Ohio

Micropolitan Population: 85,333

Rank: 7

The economy in Zanesville had been suffering long before things on Wall Street began to unravel. In the past two years, a handful of manufacturing plants have shuttered or relocated abroad, putting more than 1,000 people out of work. That bad news, says Mayor Howard “Butch” Zwelling, has been tempered by deals with Avon and Time Warner to open distribution and call centers in town. Zwelling is optimistic about the future. “We’re going to do alright,” he says. “We’re going to get through this mess.”